Heat exchanging system of ventilating device

ABSTRACT

A heat exchanging system of a ventilating device includes: a heat exchanging housing communicating with an outdoor air passage and an indoor air passage; a rotational shaft rotatably supported at one side of the case of a ventilating device; and a heat exchanging elements mounted at an outer circumferential surface of the rotational shaft at regular intervals, and performing a heat-exchanging operation of outdoor air and indoor air while being rotated by a wind force of outdoor air passing the outdoor air passage and a blow force of indoor air passing the indoor air passage. Thus, any additional driving unit is not necessary to rotate the heat exchanging system, so that a fabrication cost can be reduced, the overall size of the ventilating device can be reduced, and a noise and vibration can be reduced.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a ventilating device for ventilating aroom by exchanging indoor air with outdoor air and, more particularly,to a heat exchanging system of a ventilating device that is capable ofheat-exchanging indoor air being discharged to the outside of a room andoutdoor air being supplied into the room in ventilating.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, a ventilating device discharges contaminated indoor air tothe outside of a room and sucks an outdoor fresh air into the room,having an air purifier for removing dusts and foreign materialscontained in the outdoor air and a heat exchanging system fortransmitting heat of the indoor air being discharged to the outside ofthe room to the outdoor air being sucked into indoors.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the ventilating device in accordance witha conventional art, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a heat exchangingsystem taken along line I-I of FIG. 1 in accordance with theconventional art.

The conventional ventilating device includes: a case 102 mountedpenetrating a wall compartmenting the outside and the inside of theroom, having one side positioned at the outside and the other sidepositioned indoors; a heat exchanging system 104 rotatably mountedinside the case 102 and performing an heat-exchange operation betweenindoor air and outdoor air; and a driving unit mounted at one side ofthe case 102 and generating a driving force to rotate the heatexchanging system 104.

An outdoor air passage 108 for passing outdoor air therethrough and anindoor air passage 110 for passing indoor air therethrough are formedinside the case 102. An outdoor suction opening 112 for sucking outdoorair and an outdoor discharge opening 114 for discharging indoor airoutwardly are formed at one side of the case 102 positioned at theoutside of the room. An indoor suction opening 116 for sucking indoorair and an indoor discharge opening 118 for discharging outdoor air intothe room are formed at the outer side of the case 102 positioned at theinside of the room.

A first blow fan 120 is installed in the outdoor air passage 108 to givea suction force to outdoor air to suck the outdoor air, and a secondblow fan 124 is installed in the indoor air passage 110 to give asucking force to suck the indoor air.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heat exchanging system 104 consists of arotational shaft 130 rotatably supported at the center of the case 102,a hub 132 formed in a cylindrical form and fixed at the rotational shaft130, and a heat exchanging elements 134 being radially mounted at thehub 132, sucking heat contained in indoor air being discharged to theoutside of the room and transmitting it to outdoor air being sucked intothe room.

The driving unit consists of a drive motor fixed at one side of the case102, a drive pulley 142 connected to the drive motor 140, a passivepulley 144 fixed at the rotational shaft; and a belt 146 wound betweenthe drive pulley 142 and the passive pulley 144.

The operation of the conventional ventilating device will now bedescribed.

When an operation switch is turned on, the first blow fan 120 and thesecond blow fan 124 are driven, so that outdoor air is supplied into theroom through the outdoor air passage 108 and indoor air is dischargedoutwardly through the indoor air passage 110.

When the rotational shaft 130 is rotated by the drive pulley 142, thebelt 146 and the passive pulley 146 as the drive motor 140 is driven,the heat exchanging element 134 is rotated together with the hub 132,absorbing heat contained in the indoor air being discharged outwardly ofthe room and transmitting it to the outdoor air being sucked into theroom.

However, since the heat exchanging system of the conventionalventilating device requires a driving unit for driving the heatexchanging system and a driving force transmitting unit for transmittingthe driving force of the driving unit to the heat exchanging system, afabrication cost is increased. In addition, since a space is required toinstall them, the ventilating device is enlarged in its size. Moreover,a noise and vibration are generated according to driving of the drivemotor.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a heatexchanging system of a ventilating device which is rotated by a windforce in the flow of indoor air and outdoor air, to thereby reduce afabrication cost because no driving unit is required to drive the heatexchanging system, reduce the size of a ventilating device, and reduce anoise and vibration.

To achieve these objects, there is provided a heat exchanging system ofa ventilating device including: a heat exchanging housing communicatingwith an outdoor air passage and an indoor air passage; a rotationalshaft rotatably supported at one side of the case of a ventilatingdevice; and a heat exchanging elements mounted at an outercircumferential surface of the rotational shaft at regular intervals,and performing a heat-exchanging operation of outdoor air and indoor airwhile being rotated by a blow force of outdoor air passing the outdoorair passage and a blow force of indoor air passing the indoor airpassage.

In the heat exchanging system of a ventilating device of the presentinvention, a hub is formed at an outer circumferential surface of therotational shaft, and an inner surface of the heat exchanging elementsis mounted at the hub.

In the heat exchanging system of a ventilating device of the presentinvention, the heat exchanging elements are mounted at the outercircumferential surface of the hub at regular intervals and formed witha curved surface.

In the heat exchanging system of a ventilating device of the presentinvention, a support rib is mounted at an outer circumferential surfaceof the heat exchange element in order to support so that the heatexchanging elements are arranged at regular intervals.

In the heat exchanging system of a ventilating device of the presentinvention, the inner side of the curved heat exchanging elements facesthe direction that outdoor air flows and the direction that indoor airflows.

In the heat exchanging system of a ventilating device of the presentinvention, the heat exchanging element is made of non-woven fabric.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a ventilating device in accordance with aconventional art;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a heat exchanging system of theventilating device taken along line I-I of FIG. 1 in accordance with theconventional art;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a ventilating device in accordance withthe present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a heat exchanging system of theventilating device in accordance with the present invention.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

There may exists a plurality of embodiments for a heat exchanging systemof a ventilating device, of which most preferred one will now bedescribed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a heat exchanging system of theventilating device in accordance with the present invention and FIG. 4is a sectional view of a heat exchanging system of the ventilatingdevice in accordance with the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, a ventilating device of the present inventionincludes: a case 6 mounted penetrating a wall which defines the indoorsand the outdoors and having an outdoor air passage 2 for passing outdoorair therethrough and an indoor air passage 4 for passing indoor airtherethrough; a heat exchanging system 8 rotatably mounted inside thecase 6 and performing a heat exchanging operation on indoor air andoutdoor air; and first and second blow fans 10 and 12 mounted at theoutdoor air passage 2 and the indoor air passage 4 and providing a blowforce, respectively.

The case 6 includes a partition wall 52 for dividing the outdoor airpassage 2 and the indoor air passage 4.

At one side of the case 6 positioned outdoors, there are provided anoutdoor suction opening 16 connected to the outdoor air passage 2 forsucking outdoor air and an outdoor discharge opening 18 connected to theindoor air passage 4 for discharging indoor air outwardly of a room.

Meanwhile at the other side of the case 6 positioned in the room, thereare provided an indoor discharge opening 20 connected to the outdoor airpassage 2 for discharging outdoor air into the room and an indoorsuction opening 22 connected to the indoor air passage 4 for suckingindoor air therethrough.

The heat-exchanging system 8 consists of a heat exchanging housing 30formed communicating between the outdoor air passage 2 and the indoorair passage 4; a rotational shaft 32 rotatably supported at one side ofthe case 6; and a plurality of heat exchanging elements 34 fixed at therotational shaft 32, inserted in the heat exchanging housing 30, andperforming a heat exchanging operation on indoor air and outdoor airwhile being rotated by a blow force of outdoor air and indoor air.

Both sides of the rotational shaft 32 are rotatably supported at oneside of the case 6 and a bearing 36 is inserted between the case and therotational shaft 32. A hub 38 is fixed at an outer circumferentialsurface of the rotational shaft 32, in which the inner surface of theheat exchanging element 34 is mounted. A support rib 40 is mounted at anouter surface of the heat exchanging elements 34 to support the outersurface of the heat exchanging elements 34.

The heat exchanging elements 34 are formed with a curved surface with apredetermined thickness and mounted at the outer circumferential surfaceof the hub 38 at equal intervals in a circumferential direction. Theouter surface of the heat exchanging elements 34 are supported by thesupport rib 40.

That is, the heat exchanging elements 34 are formed such that the innerside of the curved surface faces the direction that indoor air andoutdoor air flow and thus rotated by a wind force of the indoor air andthe outdoor air.

The heat exchanging elements 34 is made of a material which would easilyabsorbs heat contained in indoor air and, preferably, formed ofnon-woven fabric.

The operation of the ventilating device constructed as described abovewill now be explained.

When a user turns on an operation switch of the ventilating device, thefirst and second blow fans 10 and 12 are driven. When the first blow fan10 is driven, outdoor air is sucked into the outdoor suction opening 16,passes through the outdoor air passage 2 and is supplied into the roomthrough the indoor discharge opening 20. Meanwhile, when the second blowfan 12 is driven, indoor air is sucked into the indoor suction opening22, passes the indoor air passage 4 and is discharge outwardly of theroom through the outdoor discharge opening 18.

At this time, when the outdoor air passing the outdoor air passage 2 andthe indoor air passing the indoor air passage 4 collide with the frontsurface of the heat exchanging elements 34, respectively, the heatexchanging elements 34 are rotated centering around the rotational shaft32.

When the indoor air collides with the heat exchanging elements 34, theheat exchanging elements 34 absorb heat contained in the indoor air, andthen, when the outdoor air collides with the heat exchanging elements 34while the heat exchanging elements 34, which have absorbed heat of theindoor air, are being rotated, the heat exchanging elements 34 transmitsheat to the outdoor air, thereby performing a heat exchanging operationbetween the indoor air and the outdoor air.

As so far described, the heat exchanging system of a ventilating deviceof the present invention has the following advantages.

That is, the heat exchanging system is rotatably mounted between theoutdoor air passage and the indoor air passage and rotated by a blowforce of outdoor air passing the outdoor air passage and a blow force ofindoor air passing the indoor air passage, thereby performing a heatexchanging operation. Thus, any additional driving unit is not necessaryto rotate the heat exchanging system, so that a fabrication cost can bereduced, the overall size of the ventilating device can be reduced, anda noise and vibration can be reduced.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the plasma polymerization onthe surface of the material of the present invention without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that thepresent invention cover modifications and variations of this inventionprovided they come within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

1. A ventilating device comprising: a housing having an outdoor airpassage and an indoor air passage; a shaft rotatably supported by thehousing, the shaft being rotatable about an axis which is substantiallyperpendicular to a direction of an air flow flowing in at least one ofthe outdoor air passage and the indoor air passage; and a plurality ofheat exchanging elements mounted around an outer circumferential surfaceof the shaft, the heat exchanging elements being rotatable on the shaftby the air flow to exchange heat between air in the outdoor air passageand air in the indoor air passage, wherein a hub is formed at an outercircumferential surface of the shaft, in which an inner surface of theheat exchanging elements is mounted, wherein each of the heat exchangingelements has substantially a same curved shape.
 2. The ventilatingdevice of claim 1, wherein the heat exchanging elements are mounted atthe outer circumferential surface of the hub at regular intervals. 3.The ventilating device of claim 1, wherein a support rib is mounted atan outer circumferential surface of the heat exchanging elements.
 4. Theventilating device of claim 1, further comprising a heat exchanginghousing within the housing to communicate with the outdoor air passageand the indoor air passage, the heat exchanging housing surrounding theheat exchanging elements.
 5. The ventilating device of claim 1, whereineach of the heat exchanging elements has a concave surface.
 6. Theventilating device of claim 5, wherein the air flow flows onto theconcave surface to rotate the heat exchanging elements.
 7. Theventilating device of claim 1, wherein the outdoor air passage isparallel to the indoor air passage.
 8. The ventilating device of claim1, wherein the axis is perpendicular to the direction of the air flow.9. A ventilating device comprising: a housing having an outdoor airpassage and an indoor air passage; a shaft rotatably supported by thehousing, the shaft being rotatable about an axis which is substantiallyperpendicular to a direction of an air flow flowing in at least one ofthe outdoor air passage and the indoor air passage; and a plurality ofheat exchanging elements mounted around an outer circumferential surfaceof the shaft, the heat exchanging elements being rotatable on the shaftby the air flow to exchange heat between air in the outdoor air passageand air in the indoor air passage, wherein each of the heat exchangingelements has a concave surface and a convex surface opposite to theconcave surface, wherein when the concave surface faces an inlet of oneof the outdoor air passage and the indoor air passage, the convexsurface faces an outlet of the one of the outdoor air passage and theindoor air passage.
 10. The ventilating device of claim 9, wherein theheat exchanging element is made of non-woven fabric.
 11. A ventilatingdevice comprising: a housing having an outdoor air passage and an indoorair passage; a shaft rotatably supported by the housing, the shaft beingrotatable about an axis which is substantially perpendicular to adirection of an air flow flowing in at least one of the outdoor airpassage and the indoor air passage; a plurality of heat exchangingelements mounted around an outer circumferential surface of the shaft,the heat exchanging elements being rotatable on the shaft by the airflow to exchange heat between air in the outdoor air passage and air inthe indoor air passage; a hub on the shaft; and a support rib along anouter circumferential surface of the heat exchanging elements, each ofthe heat exchanging elements extending from the hub to the support rib,wherein each of the heat exchanging elements has substantially a samecurved shape.
 12. The ventilating device of claim 11, wherein each ofthe heat exchanging elements has a concave surface.
 13. The ventilatingdevice of claim 12, wherein the air flow flows onto the concave surfaceto rotate the heat exchanging elements.